Supercritical Сarbon Dioxide for Protecting Paper Documents from Biodeterioration

For the first time in Russia, a clearly expressed functional effect of supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide in the presence of alcohol as a cosolvent is demonstrated on 12 species of paper-degrading micromycetes. To estimate the possibility of further use of this method for disinfection treatment of library and museum collections by pure supercritical carbon dioxide and with the addition of ethanol as a cosolvent in concentrations of 2 and 4%, the efficiency of various modes is analyzed using paper samples with foci of biodamage caused by the micromycete Aspergillus niger. It is shown that pure supercritical carbon dioxide leads to a minimal decrease in the content of microorganisms on the surface of samples. Treatment in supercritical carbon dioxide with the addition of 4% ethanol in the stirring mode allows for a high degree of reduction in sample contamination and can be considered as a promising method for processing paper documents.